I couldn’t recommend trying to eat while being towed along like a kite.
Almost choked on my rations, and drinking? It’d be easier to drink and run.
Maybe we could’ve stopped for lunch, but I was already feeling like a
burden – literally, I had to be kited along – and I wasn’t going to suggest
stopping.
After an early, early lunch, I decided to start working on my new image,
linking [Dance with the Heavens] up with [Persistent Casting]. I didn’t
have the greatest focus, basically needing to be walking on a treadmill the
entire time I was trying to focus on my entire knowledge of medicine,
recalled through [Pristine Memories].
It helped that I’d done it before, and I simply recalled the last time I did
this. Problem was, I didn’t have as much time, so it was more like
skimming a book than a thorough, in-depth read, occasionally being jolted
out of my thinking as Hunting stopped for a moment, and I kept going, only
for my leash to get yanked as I drifted too far.
Still, progress was progress, and my efficiency was improving. I’d want to
completely re-do this when I got the chance, but something was better than
nothing. Also, a lack of efficiency wasn’t bothering me too much, as I’d just
increased my mana pool to a ludicrous degree. Ideally, I’d have perfect
efficiency – my own pride in my abilities demanded I go for it, before I
even touched practical considerations – but for now, this would have to be
‘good enough’.
We made solid time, with Hunting occasionally stopping to check on
something. I wasn’t sure what, since there were clearly no eggs, and the
path the Queens had taken could only be made more obvious with a giant
neon sign, and even that would’ve only improved it slightly.
I was also continuously amused by Hunting pulling me along. As he pulled
me along, I pushed up. As I pushed up, he was also pulled up just a bit,
creating a strange bobbing effect. Basically, I was lifting some of his weight
as well. Fun stuff!
We spent a few days traveling like this. Death-trap of a campsite, some chit-
chat in the morning, traveling through the lands, finding a spot at night,